Travel Tips

For some reason, and I'm not sure why, I end up at a lot of bad Mexican restaurants while traveling. I should really know better than to try out a Mexican place in say, Helsinki, but somehow the need for a margarita always gets the better of me. So here's a little Mexican restaurant FYI for you if you ever happen to be in any of these towns--and if you have any bad Mexican restaurant stories of your own send 'em over and I'll add them in!

54 State Street
802-229-9348

What can I say? I knew it was a mistake before I ever went in, but I did it anyway. I have only myself to blame for the oily mass of shredded beef--disguised as an enchilada--I was served for lunch. Only me. On a positive note, they have a nice looking bar.

179 Central Street
(978) 934-8877

This place brings a whole new meaning to the word "unsavory". This is one of the few restaurants I've ever eaten where I had to send my food back to the kitchen--and ask them not to bring it back. Two words for you: canned spinach.

1657 Ste. Catherine Street West
514-939-3329

I have an excuse for this one. It was summertime and this place has a really nice sidewalk patio. People were out there drinking sangria and looking happy. They were fashionable and good looking. The waiters were cute.

The drinks here are pretty good actually but they serve some of the worst Mexican food I've ever had. Awful. Dry. Flavorless. Ick. Beans like an adobe floor tile. They're rated the best Mexican place in Montreal, too, so take that as fair warning.

Kalevankatu 23
+358 9 680 1865

Here's a perfect example of me not wanting to listen to reason. The old sidewalk patio got to me again. The people weren't as good looking as in Montreal, but I was hungry. And in retrospect I have to admit that eating at Mexican place where they combine smoked salmon with Velveeta to create nachos was a bad idea--make that anything combined with Velveeta. Did I mention pickled jalapenos? I didn't know they could be pickled.

157 South Franklin Street
(907) 586-6770

Salmon tacos anyone? What's with the salmon theme here? At least the people who own this place are actually Mexican.

128 Middlesex Turnpike
(781) 505-2500

Out of all of the places on this page, this one is probably the best. The food won't kill you, but the drinks are just bad, bad, bad. And we can't have that can we? Someone should let them know that when they use the town tap water to make ice the margaritas end up tasting like chlorine. Mmm. Hey, but I guess they're disinfected.